THUNDER BAY -- Having a warm place to sleep at night is something we all take for granted, but for the city’s less fortunate, it’s not always that easy.
Now, one group of city residents has come up with a way to provide some comfort for those in need.
These mats are all made from plastic yarn or plarn, which is in turn made from plastic bags you would find in any grocery store.
Each mat is 3-feet by 6-feet wide and takes anywhere from 400 to 700 bags and almost 18 hours of cutting and crocheting to make.
John Wreszczak and his wife got the idea after visiting family in Chicago.
He said the mats are already being distributed into the community through agencies like Shelter House and its SOS Program.
“We happened to sit at a table with a lady who had a gigantic ball of plarn and she was crocheting,” Wreszczak said.
“My wife who is interested in crocheting asked what she was doing and she advised us about the group called New Life for Old Bags, they collect shopping bags, cut them up and crochets them together to create sleeping mats.
The group has been meeting for several months now and has a roster of 24 people.
So far, they have managed to make 32 mats in addition to the 120 that the Wreszczak have made themselves.
(TBT News)
